Rail bond



April 1930- R. GOODYEAR 1,755,439

RAIL BOND Filed Jan. 3, 1922 INVENTOR BY 2 W ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT GOODYEAR, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, .A CORPORATION OF NEW many RAIL BOND Application filed January 8, 1922. Serial No. 526,858.

' My invention relates to attachments for electrically conductive bonds, and especially to a device which may be secured to the ends of railway bonds for forming a metallic mold thereabout to retain metal melted during the process of attaching the bond to the rail.

- One object of my invention is to devise an attachment for a bond comprising a strip of metal adapted to be clamped to a bond end and to form, with the member to Which the bond isto be-se'cured, an open-top mold for receiving metal melted during the process of securin the bond to the said member.

Anot er object is to devise an attachment 'for a bond comprising a U-shaped strip of metal provided with depending portions 1 ada ted to be bent around and thus to secure mec anicall the strip and bond to a member to'which it is to be attached, the strip'being 2(} adapted to serve as an open-top mold for metal melted in attaching the bond to the said member. 1/

Other'objects out hereinafter- I On the attached sheet of drawings which forms a part of this specification:

Figure l is a perspective view of a bond embodying my invention as applied to a railway rail.

Fi top-o my preferred form of attachment some what enlarged.

Fi re 3 shows a modified'form of terminal 'attac mentprovided with means for securing the same to a metallic bar or similar membeijfv such as a rail base, the bar and the manner of bending the fingers thereover being indicated in dotted lines. The terminal attachment is shown inverted to better disclose the lower face of the attachment which contacts with the bar or rail and also the engagement of the fingers with the bar.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner of applying the terminal to an overhung third rail. I t

In the drawings numeral 1 designates a railway rail to the base of which is'secured a bond 2, consisting of a flexible cable 3 and my im roved form of terminal attachment or mo d portion 4. Although this attachment will appear and be pointed height so that when assembled, as shown in re 2 is a fragmentary view showing the '1 i 'may be secured directly to the ends of cable 3,

I prefer to clamp it about the ends'of a completed bond, i. e., one having a terminal clip or sleeve 5 which holds together the strands of the cable. One preferred form of attachment or mold portion comprises a substantially U shaped thin sheet iron member or upright wall member 6 between the open ends of which is inserted the end of cable 3 and which is secured to'the bond by a U-shaped clamp 7 clamped thereabout. It will be understood that the terminal attachment 4 and clamp 7 together comprise a mold portion, and that the clamp 77 and the-adjacent portions of the member 6 together comprise a cable engaging section. lVhen the flexible portion or cable 3 of a bond is assembled with the terminal. or

' mold portion 4, said mold portion and cable tendingvinto said mold cavity. If desired,

the sheet iron member or band .6 may vary in the drawings, the body portion 4 will taper toward the outer end, that is, away from the end of the conductor 3. V This attachment is preferably assembled with the bond when the latter is manufactured but may, if desired, be secured to the bond at the time the bonds are being attached to rails or other metallic members. I,

= As shown in Fig. 1, my attachment or'mol'd portion 4 serves as an open top mold portion to retain molten metal at the end of cable 3 when metal is melted during-the process of uniting the cable to the rail and of building 1 up a bond head 8.

In securinga bond equipped with this form of terminal attachment to a rail, the bond is held against therail in the position shown in Figure 1, an electric arc is drawn for example .from the railadjacent the endof the cable 3 v to an electrode and a portion of the free end of the cable together with its clip 5 is melted,, the molten metal being retained by the wall 6 of attachment 4. Additional metal to form a bondhead of the desired size is then melted into this mold by the arc. Due to the high heat generated by the arc process of uniting the bond to the rail, attachment 4 also often becomes integrally united to the rail and cable.

A modified form of attachment 4 is shown in Figure 3 wherein 6 designates a substantially U-shaped member similar to that described hereinbefore secured to a cable 3 by a U-shaped clamp 7. Fingers 9 secured in staggered relation on opposite sides of member 6 and extending outwardly therefrom serve to secure a bar 10 or other variously-shaped metallic piece to the bond and terminal attachment 6 by being bent thcreover. The fingers 9 may be secured to terminal 6 in any suitable manner, for example, as here shown, by Welding. hen bar 10, for example, is mechanically secured to the bond and terminal by bending fingers 9 thereover, as is indicated in lotted lines in Figure 3, the terminal attach- Inent mechanically holds the parts in position for bonding and forms a mold capable of retaining molten metal. In each modification one edge 6 of member 6, the ends 7' of clip 7 and an adjacent face 5 of clip 5 lie in substantially the same plane thus insuring contact of each of these parts with a member to which the bond is to be joined and thereby preventing escape of molten metal from the mold formed by these attachments. Figs. 4 and 5 show the form of bond illustrated in Fig. 3 applied to the upper surface of an overhung third rail. The loop 6 rests upon the top surface of the rail and the fingers 9 are bent about the upper T head so as to hold the terminal member in place on the rail.

The method of joining a bond equipped with this modified form of attachment to a rail, bar or other metallic member is similar to the method above outlined in connection with the referred form of attachment.

arious other structural modifications may conceivably occur to those skilled in the art Without departing from my invention and, ac-

cordingly, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the particular forms herein disclosed. The scope of my invention is defined by What is claimed.

What is claimed:

1. In a rail bond, in combination, a mold portion, and a bond cable, said mold portion comprising an extended cable engaging section extending along the cable and an upright Wall formed to extend alonga rail base, said cable being engaged and gripped by said cable engaging section, and a separately formed metal insert interposed between the portion of said cable so engaged and said engaging section, said mold portion and bond cable forming an open-top, open-bottom molten metal retaining portion adapted to form, with the base of a rail, an open-top molten metal receiving mold cavity, the end of said cable extending into said mold cavity.

2. A terminal member for an electric conductor comprising a U shaped portion formed up out of strip metal with adjacentspaced ends adapted to engage and grip a cable there-,

between and a U shaped clamp formed up of sheetmetal to engage the ends of the U shaped portion to force the ends of the U shaped portion into engagement with the conductor and maintain the said engagement.

3. In combination a cable, a terminal for said cable comprising a sheet metal member disposed in the form of a loop about the end of the cable With a passage through the loop transverse to the axis of the cable, said member having end portions engaging opposite portions of the periphery of said cable adjacent the end of said cable, and means for clamping the ends of said member. to said cable.

4. In combination a stranded cable, a terminal'member for said cable comprising a strip of sheet metal disposed in the form of a loop projecting beyond the end of said cable with a passage through said loop transverse to the axis of the cable and having end portions extending along the cable in contact with diametrically opposite portions of the periphery of said cable, said cable being gripped by the contacting lateral surfaces of the end'portions of said strip, means for clamping the ends of said strip to said cable, a member of conducting material engaging said loop and forming With said loop a pocket for retaining molten metal in contact With the end of said cable and an extension secured to said loop and engaging the side of said mem ber of conducting material opposite that engaged by said loop to hold said loop and cable in place While Welding metal is deposited in said pocket to unite the end of said cable with said member of conducting material.

5. In combination a stranded cable, a terminal for said cable formed of sheet metal and comprising a member looped about the end of said cable and having broad end portions disposed in contact with diametrically opposite portions of the periphery of said cable, said cable being gripped by the broad ends of the sheet metal looped member for an extended distance along said cable adjacent the end of said cable, said sheet metal looped member being extended beyond the end of said cable in the direction of the axis of said cable and having a portion arranged transverse to the axis of said cable and positioned beyond the end of said cable, a member of conducting "material engaged by said extended and transverse portions of said terminal and cooperating with said portions to form a pocket about the end of said cable to retain molten metal in contact with the ends of the strands of said cable and with the surface of said member of conducting material and an extension on said terminal engaging the side of said member of conducting material opposite that engaged by said terminal to hold said terminal in position while welding metal is deposited in said pocket.

6. A connector to be welded to a rail surface comprising a cable, terminals secured to the ends of the cable and each terminal comprising an elongated attachment portion secured to and gripping a cable end and extending longitudinally along the length "of the cable, a retaining portion'disposed beyond the end of the cable and spaced from the cable and from said attachment portion and ex tions to engage the surface of the rail opposite that surface to which the connector is welded to hold the connector in position while welding.

7 In a rail bond, in combination, a terminal and a bond cable, said terminal comprising an extended cable engaging section extending along the cable and gripping the same and an upright wall formed to extend along a horizontal surface of a rail, said cable being engaged and gripped by said cable engaging section, a separately formed metal insert interposed between the portion of said cable so engaged and said engaging section, said terminal and bond cable forming an open-top, open-bottom, molten metal re taining portion adapted to form, with the base of the rail, an open-top molten metal receiving cavity, the end face of the cable being gaging section extending along the cable and engaging and gripping the cable and having spaced edges, said portion comprising a ,retaining member forming one wall of a receiving cavity for molten metal and spaced from sald cable engaging section, the end of the cable projecting into said'cavity to be fused to said molten metal and a member projecting from said terminal to engage the horizontal surface of the rail opposite the first said horizontal surface.

10. An electric connector comprising a bond body and a separately formed terminal secured to the end of the bond body, said terminal having a bond body receiving portion extending along and gripping the end of the bond body, and means projecting from said bond body receiving portion and forming a recess beyond said bond body receiving portion, said recess increasing in depth toward said bond body receiving portion and open at opposite faces to form a receptacle with one face of a rail for fused attaching metal to secure the terminal and bond body each to the other and to the rail, and means less in width than the length of the terminal and positioned intermediate the ends of the terminal to engage the rail to hold the terminal in position while installing and to assist the attaching metal in maintaining the terminal in place. i

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

' ROBERT. GOODYEAR.

exposed within said cavity and projecting means on said terminal to engage the face of the rail opposite the said horizontal surface to hold said terminal to the rail while weldin In a rail bond, in combination, a terminal and a cable, said terminal comprising an extended cable engaging section extending along the cable and gripping the same and an upright wall formed to extend along a horizontal surface of a rail, said cable being engaged and gripped by said cable engaging section, said terminal and bond cable forming an open-top, open-bottom molten metal retaining portion adapted to form, with the base of a rail, an open-top molten metal receiving cavity, the end face of the cable being exposed within said cavity and projecting means to engage the face of the rail opposite the said horizontal surface to hold said terminal to the rail while welding.

9. A bond comprising a terminal and a cable secured together, said terminal comprising a portion to be welded to a horizontal to surface of a rail, and a projecting cable en- 

